It's a Man's World
by Partly
Summary: Boys will be boys, which is why Fiona is Fiona.


"Aren't you a pretty little thing?" A leer and a groping hand accompanied the words. Fiona giggled into her drink, playing at being bashful and tipsy.

"Do you really think so?" She asked, slightly breathlessly. She glanced down at her drink, and stirred it with her finger. "That I'm pretty, I mean." She shifted on the barstool, carefully steering the man's attention away from the locked back room Michael was currently breaking into.

"Oh, yeah, baby." He focused on her, his job as bar security forgotten. His eyes lingered on her exposed thigh. "You're kinda short, but that's okay. I always liked short."

Fiona giggled again. He was an easy mark. Act insecure and self-doubting, pretend his push-pull insults were clever little come-on lines and play to his ego. Child's play.

"I've always liked… big men," she met his eyes for a moment then looked away, letting her hair fall in front of her face and expose the skin on the back of her neck. She could feel him lean into her, his breath as foul as the rest of him. She feigned interest and turned toward him, giving her a clear view the back door.

Her mark took the move as an invitation and slid his arms around her, pulling her toward him and running his hands over her. She ignored it all, knowing she didn't need to actively participate. Instead, she watched the back door. Michael had said that it would take him two minutes to get what he needed. She hoped he was right because any more than that and she'd have to change tactics with this creep. His grip tightened and he pulled her off her bar stool and onto his lap, muttering things into her ear that made her itch for the gun that was in her handbag.

Just then Michael exited the room and headed outside. Time to leave. Fiona laughed and squirmed out of the thug's arms with practiced ease. "I need to freshen up before we do all that." She grabbed her purse.

"You better not take too long, little thing. You don't want to miss out on this." He waved his hands at himself.

"Oh don't worry," she said as she headed into the crowd. "I wouldn't miss."

* * *

The raid had been a success, two bad guys taken out without a shot being fired. Sam and Michael were in the other room rescuing the hostages and Fiona held the two kidnappers at gunpoint. One of the wanna-be Dillingers looked dazed and subdued, but the other one glared at Fiona. He shifted his weight and she read his intention in the movement.

"Don't do it," she said but she knew that he wasn't going to listen. He was full of adrenaline and machismo. She'd met his type before. He wouldn't be intimidated by woman, especially not a woman who looked like she did.

"I ain't afraid of no girl," he said. "It takes balls to use a gun, chica"

She shot as he moved, hitting him in the arm and knocking him back into the fireplace. She put two more bullets into the woodworking next to his head, warning shots. He swore and curled up against the wall, clutching the bleeding wound. He didn't move.

Michael burst out of the other room, gun drawn. He took the scene in with one glance and holstered his pistol. "Fi?

Fiona nodded. "He just needed me to prove I was serious."

Michael walked closer to the kidnappers. "Don't be stupider than you already are, boys." Sirens could be heard in the distance. "Fi would just kill you, I'm the one who thinks the cops should have someone to arrest." He looked at the two bullet holes in the wall, so close together they overlapped. "Nice shooting, Fi."

Fiona smiled. "And all I needed was a trigger finger."

* * *

Michael stood in front of her in a defensive stance, breathing steady. He was covered in sweat and his sleeveless tee clung to him. Fiona rolled her shoulders and studied him, trying to find an opening. They'd been sparring for twenty minutes and she was tiring. They were always evenly matched at the start of the bout, but his strength always gave him the advantage as the match went on.

She feinted to the right, then slipped under his block and connected with a solid hit to his side, but he managed to deflect her next two strikes. The advantage was clearly his and he knew it. He wore an little arrogant smile all men got when they thought they were going to win. It pissed her off on an almost primal level. She considered sweeping his leg, he'd been favoring his right knee and she knew he'd hurt it on the last case.

"I want to thank you," Michael's voice cut through her thoughts.

"What?" The distraction burned off some of her anger at her inability to take him down. Instead of going for the knee, she tried a jujitsu move.

"For all your help with the kidnapping."

He managed to avoid her throw, but it had left him with less maneuvering ability. She moved quickly to keep him off balance.

He dodged her next two moves and managed to capture her right hand in his. "I couldn't do this without you."

She didn't know whether he meant the case or the sparring. She tried to spin out of his grip, but he kept hold of her, turning with her and she ended up firmly held in his arms. She cursed herself for not seeing the trap.

He dropped his head and lowered his voice. "I really do appreciate it."

As she looked into his eyes and as his lips moved toward her, she discarded the idea of kneeing him and going for a submission hold. Sure this was an overly aggressive, obvious ploy at seduction in order to end the match. Typically male.

She relaxed into his kiss. That wasn't always a bad thing.


End file.
